According to a survey conducted by PawSheets, the top challenge of dog owners is keeping their dog’s bed clean and odor free. Controlling hair in the home is a close second.
PawSheets Customer Survey: What is Your Biggest Challenge With Caring for Your Dog?
This is no surprise. There are more styles for dog beds than ever before. Even for not-so-big dogs, extra large dog beds, bolster dog beds and couch type beds are becoming very popular.
According to International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH), a dog bed should be washed once a week. Germs and other nasty stuff can live on a dog bed for up to 12 months! The large and extra large dog beds present more of a challenge. Removing a stinky, hairy cover is not fun, and refitting the washable cover is no easy task.
If you are like me, washing a couple large dog beds (or even the covers) every week is a bit more than I can handle. I find that there are several reasons for this:
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My dog beds are too big for the washing machine – so need to go the laundromat.
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What if the dog bed cover shrinks at a high temperature making putting it back on next to impossible?
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What if the dog bed cover zipper wears out?
I don’t know about you but washing the dog bed cover ends up at the bottom of my weekend ‘to do” list – right after cleaning the garbage cans.
Tips to Help Keep The Dog Bed Clean
Keep in mind the longer you wait to wash the dog bed, the harder it will be to get it clean. So here are a few tips to help keep a dog bed clean and odor free:
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Buy beds with a removable, washable cover and a good zipper.
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If your dog tends to have wetting issues, trying enclosing the mattress in a large plastic bag and then put the cover over the bag.
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Vacuum the bed daily. Use a pet hair sticky roller to remove the stubborn hair.
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Use a natural deodorizer spray like DEODORATOR® or make one with some baking soda, essential oil (lavender, lemongrass) and water. Spray the bed daily.
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Do not let it get too stinky. If it does, it may be time for a new bed.
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Try using a durable dog bed removable cover or dog bed sheets. PawSheets are made with plenty of fabric and big enough to use two at once.
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I use two PawSheets and wash the top one weekly. Then if the underneath one is still fresh, I use it on top of a fresh PawSheet.
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The Best Tip to Solve Dog Bed Odor
Extra large, XXL and fancy dog beds look great when they are new. The best tip is to think about how easy or difficult it will be to keep the bed clean and fresh – before you buy.
Here is Tango looking good on his XL Big Barker Dog Bed covered with a size XXL, hunter green PawSheet. Here's part of his mom's Google review:
"My dog has allergies so I cover his bed with a clean pawsheet every day which is so much easier than washing a bed cover every day. The sheets I bought years ago have been washed hundreds of times and are like brand new." - Jan Vita
Made in the USA, PawSheets dog bed sheets are durable and made to last. Extend the life of your dog's bed while controlling hair and odor.